[state] women’s political participation

The Al-Ifta and Islamic Research Sector at the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs has issued a fatwa stating “no one can force any citizen, either male or female, to vote for any specific candidate.”

Despite the good commitments from CEDAW and the Beijing Platform for Action especially, implementation by governments and in the UN has been far slower than we would like. With the initiatives for reforms in the UN, there is an important opportunity now to ensure that the structural and other obstacles to effective implementation within the UN are addressed.